


as long as you love me so...

by a_ufo_party



Category: Thor (Movies)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Hipster Loki, Mutual Pining, Snowed In, coffee shop AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:41:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21944515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_ufo_party/pseuds/a_ufo_party
Summary: Sif, a long time employee at Odin Family Roasters is surprised on Christmas Eve when she goes in to work and finds Loki there as well. Several cups of coffee and a snowstorm later, the two are forced to address the feelings which have been simmering between them for some time.
Relationships: Loki/Sif (Marvel)
Comments: 15
Kudos: 44
Collections: Mischief and Mistletoe 2019





	as long as you love me so...

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rories](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rories/gifts).



> Happy holidays!!! I really hope you enjoy this little fic. I had a blast writing it. Your prompt of a coffee shop au ft. Hipster!Loki was so so much fun, and I hope I did it justice. <3

Odin Family Roasters was always cozy, with its glowing lamps and exposed brick, but there was something about Christmas time that doubled its charm. Garlands of fresh pine wound themselves around the ceiling beams, and stockings made of burlap hung upon the fireplace. The player piano in the corner began to produce warm, festive tunes, and the smell of gingerbread mingled with roasting coffee beans filled the air.

There was no place Sif would rather be on Christmas eve.

At least, that’s what she told herself as she parked her car in the ice-slick lot and wistfully said goodbye to her cranking heat. 

She had worked last year too, and the year before that. In fact, she had worked every Christmas eve since her father’s passing. It had replaced cookies and holiday movies as her tradition, and while it wasn’t nearly as fun, she was paid double-time, and since almost no one came in on Christmas eve, had the store to herself.

The Odin family, who owned the cafe and roasting company, always spent the holidays in Norway visiting family. Every year they would return January first sporting woolen sweaters and souvenirs for their employees. And as Sif had worked there the longest out of all of the staff, she often received an additional gift. Two years ago it had been a hat, lined with the softest fur she had ever felt, and the year before that, an engraved drinking horn. But last year’s gift had been her favorite. The youngest of the Odinsons, Loki, had picked it out (a fact which made her heart glow with a tingling warmth) and wrapped it unceremoniously with brown paper. Although, the unassuming appearance gave the impression that he had, in fact, gone through a lot of effort, if only to make it appear that he hadn’t. It was a book containing folk tales and mythology, illustrated with the most breathtaking paintings she had ever seen. And though Loki insisted that the gift was from his family, Thor had informed her that it was the dark haired young man who had insisted upon its purchase. 

The memory made Sif smile, and feel an odd sense of longing in her chest. But it was foolish to miss a person who you had seen a mere days ago, and would see again in one week’s time!

Or, perhaps even sooner, for as she made her way across the parking lot, she was startled by the site of Loki’s car in its usual place.

Pushing open the cafe door with a jingle, she saw the pale young man behind the counter, sulking over a pour over, and practically drowning in the black scarf around his neck. 

“Loki…” Sif started, peeling off her red mittens. “You’re...not in Norway.”

“Hm.” He nodded, eyes still fixed on his cup as it filled.

“Are you leaving late this year?”

“No.” Setting aside the filter, he lifted he still steaming cup of black coffee to his lips and drank moodily.

“Oh?” Sif lifted her eyebrows. As she watched him down the beverage, she felt her holiday cheer dwindle like a candle in the snow. If Loki was there, there would be no Christmas music, no holiday cookies, no twinkling lights around the table legs. Only brooding, black coffee, and silence.

It was not that she didn’t like Loki. In fact, he was probably her favorite of the Odin family (and he was certainly easy on the eyes…) but Loki was not one for cheesy fun or holiday magic. In fact, she and Thor often teased him for his Scrooge-like attitude towards Christmas and merriment.

“My brother has chosen to spend the holidays in New Mexico with his fiance and her family.” Setting down his now empty mug, Loki finally met her curious gaze. “And as such, my parents chose to abandon the whole tradition and spend their Christmas on a cruise. Because why would you bother maintaining tradition if your favorite child had other plans?” 

Sif winced, surprised by the raw emotion in his tone. “Loki, I’m sorry-”

“No matter. They’ve made their decision, and given me a vacation from their foolishness, so all the better for me.” With a sigh, he flashed a bitter grin and wiped down the counter.

For a moment, Sif watched him, before removing her coat and walking into the back room to fetch an apron.

When she returned, Loki had unwound his scarf and tied an apron around his waist as well. “Oh, Sif, I suppose since I am here, you could take the day off,” said Loki, tying his hair into a messy bun, “The snow is picking up, and the roads are supposed to be unpleasant tonight.”

Sif’s heart fell in her chest. “No, I-”

“Really, I don’t mind. I’ll tell my parents you worked, so the double-time is still yours-”

“No, I don’t want to!” She cut him off, sounding far more panicked than she intended.

Eyes wide, he stared for a minute, before shrugging. “Very well. But you’ll have to accept my company for the day. There is a list of repairs I told my father I would get to before the end of the year, and now I’ve nothing else to do but make good on that intended lie.”

Nodding, Sif turned to look out the front windows. Large, fluffy snowflakes poured from the sky, whipping past the glass as the wind caught them. 

Soon, the sound of coffee pouring once more filled the tiny cafe. “So, do we get many customers on Christmas Eve?”

Turning, Sif watched as he fixed himself another cup. “A few, but they usually only get a hot chocolate and are on their way.”

Loki grimaced. “How anyone could order that tooth rotting sludge over coffee is beyond me.”

“That ‘tooth rotting sludge’ is delicious.” Sif lifted an eyebrow, walking towards the player piano. 

“It tastes like fake chocolate and sour milk.”

Feeding the parchment into the piano, Sif waited for Loki to make a snide remark about how “artless” Christmas music was, but instead, he stayed silent, and his face softened as the music filled the store.

“So, what are your plans for tomorrow?” 

“Well, I’ll probably bake cookies for breakfast and watch whatever specials are on tv.” As Sif spoke, she crossed the store to the supply closet where the last of the holiday decorations were tucked away. “And um, I’ll visit my father’s grave in the evening.”

“It’s been five years since his passing, yes?” 

“Five years come February.” Touched that he remembered, she turned to smile at him, but he had disappeared beneath the counter with a toolbox. 

“Well, should you want company tomorrow...goodness knows I’ll have nothing else to do.” His voice echoed slightly in the cabinet, accompanied by the scraping of metal. “If you’d like someone to kill any and all Christmas cheer, you have my number.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” grinned Sif, turning her attention to the customer that walked through the front door.

The day passed in much the same way every past Christmas Eve had: people arrived, noses red, bundled in coats and scarves, and left, steaming drinks in hand, smiles on their faces. The one thing that set this day apart for Sif was having another person in the store with her. Though she saw little of Loki throughout the day (he was constantly banging and scraping at some machine in the back room, or beneath the sink up front) it was nice to have someone there, someone to smile at in passing, someone to hear humming along to the music when he thought she wasn’t listening, someone to make her a latte unprompted and leave it beside the register as a surprise. In fact, Sif found herself enjoying the day so much that she was caught off guard when she looked outside and saw that the sun had set and that snow had piled into a thick barrier against the windows.

“Loki…” she started, wandering into the backroom. “Have you looked outside?” 

“Hm?” Appearing from behind the large roaster, he lifted his eyebrows. “No, why?”

She motioned for him to follow.

“Damn.” Loki breathed when he stood before the white wasteland that was their parking lot. 

“Indeed.” 

“And those small mountains are-”

“Our cars.” 

“Wonderful.”

For a moment, they simply stared.

Then, Loki turned and made for the supply closet.

“What are you doing?” Sif followed, an amused grin on her lips.

“I’m getting the shovel so I can start excavating our vehicles.”

“Oh, and what then? Do you honestly think the roads will be clear?”

Stepping out of the closet, Loki glared. “Alright, what do you propose we do?”

“Have you checked the weather? Perhaps it will lighten up-”

“‘Scattered snowfall from now until midnight…’” He read off of his phone. “So it’s only going to get worse.”

“The salt trucks won’t come until it’s lessened.”

“Perhaps I’ll risk it.”

“Perhaps you’ll end up in a ditch.” Crossing her arms, she added, “And ditches don’t have heat or coffee.” 

“So what you’re saying is we’re stuck here?”

“Well, at least until midnight.” 

“Very well. Heat and coffee it is.”

Suddenly, there was a crack from outside and the store was cloaked in darkness.

“...well, coffee at least.” Sif murmured, unable to hide the grin in her voice.

* * *

As Sif sat beside the window, letting the moonlight reflecting in the snow paint her face a pale blue, White Christmas floated from the player piano. The irony was not lost on her. 

Loki had gone into the back room to look at the fuse box, but Sif knew perfectly well looking was all he would do. The power outage had been caused by the fallen tree outside and no amount of poking at the wires would help.

Despite this, Sif could not find it in her heart to be displeased with the turn of events. When Loki had disappeared into the backroom, she had fetched the candles from the closet and set them up around the front of the store, bathing it in glowing, flickering light. And the player piano, which required no electricity, continued to sing out its jolly tunes. This made the whole store seem cozier, despite the chilly draft which seeped in beneath the door. 

When Loki did return, it was not with news about the power, but rather, with an arm full of blankets. 

“It appears that there is nothing I can do. I’m afraid we’ll just have to wait for help to arrive.” He sighed, seating himself on one of the couches by the window. “I’m sorry, Sif.”

“Don’t apologize.” She looked back at him, “I don’t mind.”

“You say that, but I happen to know that Christmas is your favorite holiday, and I can’t imagine spending it barricaded in your place of employment with your least favorite co-worker is such a merry concept.”

“Least favorite?” Sif matched the smirk on Loki’s face. “Please. You are not giving yourself enough credit.”

“Oh?”

“Indeed. You are my second to least favorite.” 

“Well, I am honored.” 

Sif felt the grin on her face soften. “In all honesty, Loki...I am not unhappy to be spending my Christmas Eve like this. If I was home right now, I would be laying in bed, watching whatever movie was on Hallmark, and feeling utterly discontent with how I’d spent my holiday. Here, at least, I have free coffee.”

“And no power.” He reminded her wryly.

“And candles, and blankets, and music,” she challenged.

“Speaking of,” gesturing to the empty seat beside him, he lifted the blankets.

Sif crossed the room and settled onto the couch, pulling the blankets over her shoulders.

After a moment, Loki murmured, “You are a furnace.”

Reaching out, she brushed her hand against his icy cheek, “And you are a snowman.”

Perhaps in was simply the candlelight, but it seemed to Sif that Loki’s face blushed at her touch.

“A snowman is better than Scrooge, I’ll take it.” 

Shifting closer to the young man, Sif kept her gaze straight ahead in the hopes that he would not notice. She always wanted to be closer to him, despite his lack of warmth, and she silently thanked the power outage for giving her an excuse.

“You know…” Loki started as the piano began to play a slower rendition of Deck The Halls. “I don’t hate Christmas, despite what you all might think.”

“Oh?”

“I actually quite like it. I like the music, I like the decorations, I like picking out a gift for you-” he corrected himself, “for all of you.” 

As he spoke, Sif felt his body inch closer to hers until their shoulders were touching, though neither addressed this development.

“If it seems that I do not enjoy the season, it is only for one particular reason which has little to do with the holiday.”

“What?” She asked softly. An anxious anticipation seized her chest, though she knew not why.

Loki looked distant and nervous, his green eyes glowing olive in the candlelight. His lips parted slightly and he took in a quiet, shaking breath. He shook his head.

“Loki?” She asked again, cautiously placing her hand over his beneath the blanket.

This seemed to pull his from his trance. 

“The reason I dread this time of year, is that my family and I spend it away from the cafe, away from its employees. And I...I am rather fond of one of these employees.” There was a nervous warmth in his voice as he made his confession. 

This warmth spread through Sif like the blanket which covered them, glowing in her chest. Hope, soft and violent took hold of her as she tried to calm her racing heart.

“And I do not know if this person feels the same way as I do, for she teases me relentlessly, and calls me a Scrooge…” he continued, voice growing more confident. “Nevertheless, the best part of my day is seeing her, and the worst part of my year is being away from her for two weeks straight.”

The ache is Sif’s chest grew tighter as she felt his hand beneath hers turn up to entwine their fingers cautiously.

Finally, in an intimate murmur, he said, “So you see, it is not Christmas that I dread. It’s...being away from you.”

Turning, Sif looked up at him. In his eyes was so much affection, such tenderness and anxiety, she could not stop herself from leaning closer to him. His eyes fluttered closed as their foreheads touched. 

“Well, seeing as your Christmas traditions have changed,” She whispered, lifting her hand to cup his cheek. He leaned into her touch. “I don’t think you will have a reason to dread the season any longer.” Then, with an uncontainable smile on her lips, she kissed him. 

He responded at once, pulling her closer and wrapping his arms around her. 

And as Let It Snow drifted from the piano, Sif silently thanked the universe for snow storms, power outages, coffee, and blankets.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! If you enjoyed this fic, comments are always very appreciated. Happy holidays!


End file.
